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Off-campus UAPB chancellor home called temporary fix

By David HutterOF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

The University of Arkansas Pine Bluff chancellor will live in an off-campus house until a new on-campus house can be built, according to a UA System spokesman.

The UA System Board of Trustees approved $350,000 Thursday to purchase a property at 2304 Foxborough Estates Lot 17. It is a single-story brick structure, measuring 4,025 square feet, said University of Arkansas System interim Director of Communications Nate Hinkel. The property includes four bedrooms, three bathrooms and other amenities, he said.

The former UAPB chancellor’s home was demolished in spring 2013.

“The previous [UAPB chancellor’s] house was deemed by an architect to be too costly to clean up,” Hinkel said. “It is not really common or ideal for the chancellor to live off campus.”

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas State University, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and University of Arkansas at Monticello have on-campus homes for their chancellors, according to spokesmen from the schools.

The UALR chancellor’s house is 4,610 square feet and includes four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a generator and has an insurable value of $346,702, spokeswoman Angela Parker said.

At UA-Fayetteville, the chancellor and his wife live in Fowler House, a 11,343-square-foot structure that cost $2.5 million, spokeswoman Laura Jacobs said.

“The long-term plan is to build a house on campus for the chancellor,” Hinkel said, estimating a time frame of five to 10 years. “They found a house appropriate for the kind of entertaining and hosting that comes with the job. But it is also a temporary fix until they can build something on campus.”

Chancellor Laurence Alexander began his job in July 2013. According to Commercial archive reports from July 2013, Alexander and his wife were living in a home at 10 Deer Horn Cove rented for them by the university for $2,175 a month.

“We knew when we were looking for a chancellor, we would also be looking for a new house,” Hinkel said.

According to a Commercial article from July 2013, the chancellor’s home had been in service since 1969 and was home to five chancellors before it was torn down in May 2013 at a cost of $18,150. Serious water and foundation problems were cited by UA System officials at the time.

Lawrence A. Davis Sr. was the first to move into the home in 1969 and lived there until 1973. Herman B. Smith lived there from 1974 to 1981. Lloyd V. Hackley was there from 1981 to 1985. Charles A. Walker lived there from 1986 to 1991. Lawrence A. Davis Jr. lived there from 1991 to 2012, according to the July 2013 article.